North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs could be on course to lock horms over Blackburn defender
Christopher Samba in January, after the powerful defender said he wants to leave the club over the sacking of Sam Allardyce.

‘If this is the way the club’s going to be run from now on, I don’t want to be part of it and I want to leave,’ he told the Sun.

‘As captain it’s very difficult to say this but I’ve thought long and hard about it. Nobody in football understands the decision to sack Sam.

‘We could have been relegated last year and Sam saved the club, so how can he be treated like this now?’

Despite suggesting last month that Arsenal would not enter the transfer market, recent comments attributed to Wenger suggest he will look to add to his squad – if he can identify a player who will add another dimension to his squad at the right price.

While Samba, who is rated at around £8million by Rovers, certainly provides this, Wenger looks certain to face competition from other interested parties – most notably their nearest rivals.

Harry Redknapp has been a known admirer of Samba for several months – with speculation suggesting the Spurs boss had a bid for the physical centre-back rejected by Rovers in the summer.

But Samba, from the French-speaking African state of Congo, is not thought to have made any considered decisions on his future yet and will await offers next month.